


Red Bricks and Ladders

by Achika



Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: HIAC 2017 spoilers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-09
Updated: 2017-10-09
Packaged: 2019-01-15 10:22:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12319107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Achika/pseuds/Achika
Summary: Sami and Kevin, Post Hell In A Cell.





	Red Bricks and Ladders

**Author's Note:**

> AKA Quick write it before Smackdown and we actually know what's going on!

Sami's hands are shaking when he gets backstage.

He just got screamed at by a teenage McMahon, and Sami thinks 'Well that's 3 Generations that hate me now' because thinking about anything else is perilous.

Daniel's nowhere to be seen, he's probably trying to convince a barely conscious Shane to get in an ambulance while reassuring Vince that everything's fine at the same time. Sami knows there's going to be repercussions, but he's fine with putting them off. Maybe that makes him a coward.

Nobody else says anything to Sami. He sees a flash of blonde hair that might be Renee's and ducks into the trainer's room to avoid her. He definitely can't handle questions yet.

There's a clock on the wall, and time seems to stretch and stretch until Sami feels like he's going to snap - if he hasn't already. Eventually, he hears familiar grumbling in the hallway.

"I can - ugh, I can walk by myself! Ow, why are you touching me?!" Kevin says, as the door opens.

"Let them do their job, Kev," Sami says, and suddenly the room is dead silent, except for the clock. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Kevin stares at Sami the entire time the trainers are looking him over, except for when they make him follow their fingers with his eyes or look at the light.

He's busted up, but it could have been - was _going to be,_ until Sami stepped in - so much worse.

"You _need_ to rest," the trainer says, after the exam is over.

"I'll get him to the hotel," Sami says.

Last week, they might have paused before releasing Kevin into Sami's care. After what just happened, the trainer only nods.

Kevin's eyes narrow suspiciously, but he allows Sami to lead him to the parking lot. They go the back way, so that they won't run in to anyone.

Neither of them says anything, the entire ride to the hotel, though Kevin rolls his eyes at the radio station Sami had playing.

It's slow going, getting out of the car and it takes a lot of cursing on Kevin's part. He leans heavily against Sami walking to the elevator. It's a moment so familiar that for a moment Sami could almost believe they were _eighteennineteentwenty_ again and still naive and full of hope.

God what Sami wouldn't give to be that young and stupid again.

"Why?" Kevin asks, the moment the hotel room door is shut. He sits down on the bed with a groan.

Sami could play dumb here, deflect the question, but Kevin would see through it and keep poking until he got an answer that would satisfy him.

"It's my fault," Sami says.

"What?" Kevin asks, confused. "I mean, sure. It's true, everything ever is your fault. But specifically what, this time?"

"All of this. Your beef with Shane, you losing your mind and attacking Vince McMahon, the damn Hell in a Cell match. All of it," Sami says. "So I... fixed it,"

Kevin looks, if anything, more confused.

"I don't...Maybe this is the injuries talking but _what are you even talking about_?"

"You asked me to be the referee because you trusted me. And I threw it in your face and then everything spiraled out of control. If I had just swallowed my pride and said Yes, none of this would have happened," Sami says. 

It feels good to say it. He's been thinking it, over and over and over, watching from the back as Kevin seems to lose his grip.

"You have a very high opinion of yourself," Kevin says.

Sami shrugs. "Sure. But what the hell was I supposed to do? You were _insane_ Kevin, I haven't seen you act like that since -"

Sami stops. They both know what fills that void, but this isn't about that. Even though everything, _everything_ , is about that.

"So I _ended_ it. It's over. You won, one-two-three," Sami says forcefully.

It wasn't just that, though. Kevin hadn't been _wrong_ when he'd called Shane out about Smackdown not always being the Land of  Opportunity, or when he'd stood in the ring and said that Sami hadn't been doing anything worthwhile. Sami was getting real sick of McMahons and their bullshit.

"You were jealous," Kevin says, smug. He reaches out and pulls Sami in.

It's been so long since things were easy between them that Sami lets himself be pulled, so careful not to hurt Kevin any worse. He presses his forehead to Kevin's.

"Sure," he says, and maneuvers them so that they're laying down. He knows from experience that Kevin's going to be awful in the morning, trying to hide how much pain he's in. But that's the morning, and he can handle it.

Sami's hands aren't shaking anymore.


End file.
